Minnesota Crop News

This month's episode of the Nutrient Management Podcast is all about sulfur. Fertilizer guidelines go through changes periodically, but are there any upcoming changes to the sulfur fertilizer guidelines specifically? What does current research tell us about managing sulfur for Minnesota crops?  Were there any surprising results? Should growers proactively add sulfur to crops out of caution, or is that practice unnecessary? What are some final takeaways that our panelists want Minnesota farmers to know about?  TRANSCRIPT Guests: Jeff Coulter, Extension corn agronomist (St. Paul) Jeff Vetsch, U of M researcher (Waseca) Seth Naeve, Extension soybean agronomist (St. Paul) Daniel Kaiser, Extension nutrient management specialist (St. Paul) Additional Resources: Sulfur for Minnesota soils Is it worth applying sulfur to your soybean crop? Sulfur fertilizer application: Does S carry over from one year to the next? Video: What source of sulfur is right for you? Fertilizing Corn in ...

Diseases Last week, the scouts continued to find a few fields with tanspot at low incidence and severity.  Widespread rains across much of Minnesota have allowed for much longer leaf wetness periods. Only the Red River Valley north of Hwy 200 continues to miss out on any measurable amounts of rain.  Consequently, the conditions for developing small grain diseases, including FHB, are much more favorable for most. For oats and barley that will be reaching  Feekes 10.5  (or fully headed), switch to a fungicide labeled for the suppression of FHB, as the risk forecast for the remainder of the week remains moderate to high across all but the most northern counties in NW and the most southern counties in the SW corners of the state. Likewise, apply a fungicide labeled for the suppression of FHB in wheat when the crop reaches  Feekes 10.51  (or beginning of anthesis). Choose one of the premium fungicide products when your variety has a FHB rating of susceptible to ...

Angie Peltier, UMN Extension crops educator, Northwest Research & Outreach Center, Jeff Vetsch, UMN research supervisor, Southern Research & Outreach Center and Axel Garcia y Garcia, UMN Extension, sustainable cropping systems specialist, Southwest Research & Outreach Center Cereal rye cover crop seeded at 50 lb/a in the fall and terminated at planting. Photo: Liz Stahl, UMN Extension The following information was provided during a 2025 Strategic Farming: Field Notes session. Use your preferred podcasting platform or listen online to a podcast of this Field Notes session hosted by UMN Extension crops educator Liz Stahl. Note : Join us this week on Wednesday when we welcome Dr. Dean Malvick, Extension plant pathologist, and Brad Carlson, Extension educator, to discuss What to expect after heavy June rains in terms of crop diseases and nutrient management.  With Cover Crops, Flexibility is a Must Liz visited with the guests who had just presented some of their research...

By Larry VanLieshout, MDA Research Scientist, Tana Haugen-Brown, Sally Raymond, and Jolene Warnke, UMN Pesticide Safety and Environmental Education Extension educators Figure 1. FieldWatch map. Protecting your neighbors’ crops and beehives from pesticide drift starts with knowing where they are located. FieldCheck , from FieldWatch® Inc ., is a voluntary online program designed to help pesticide applicators view potentially sensitive crops and beehives in their area so they can take extra precautions when making pesticide applications. To reduce potential offsite injury due to pesticide drift, follow all label requirements. In addition, scout the surrounding area and check the FieldWatch Map (Figure 1) prior to application to see if there are pesticide sensitive sites in the area. Zoom in on areas of interest to see the field borders (Figure 2). Selecting a pin on the FieldWatch map brings up additional crop or apiary information and contact information for that producer (Figure ...

Robert Koch, Extension Entomologist We have observed soybean aphids colonizing soybean fields over the last couple weeks. The infestation levels have been very low in all fields we have seen, which is typical for this time of year. So, please do not rush out to spray your fields after reading this. Instead, the next couple weeks will be a good time to begin your soybean aphid scouting program. In the early season, prioritize your scouting efforts to smaller fields with wooded borders, especially those in areas with lots of buckthorn (the plant on which soybean aphids spend the winter), and early-planted fields. While scouting, keep an eye out for lady beetles and ants on soybean plants, because these are early indicators of the presence of soybean aphids. Infested fields should be scouted on a regular basis. To determine when to spray a field with insecticide for soybean aphid, use the economic threshold of 250 aphids per plant, with most of the plants infested, and aphid populations ...

This week on Advancing Nitrogen Smart , Melissa Wilson and Brad Carlson talk about manure sampling and testing. What are some sampling guidelines to be aware of in Minnesota? How variable is nitrogen in one type of manure, and then from type to type? How could changes to a farmer's overall operation affect manure nutrient content? How should manure samples be stored? Safety is huge - what do farmers need to know about staying safe when working with manure? Oh, and how do you prevent sample jars from exploding in the mail? This, and lots of manure info on today's show.  TRANSCRIPT Guests: Brad Carlson, Extension educator (Mankato) Melissa Wilson, Extension manure nutrient management specialist (St. Paul) Additional resources: 2025 Certified Manure Testing Laboratories Nitrogen availability of different manure types: What we know and what we are researching Introducing ManureDB: A new way to view manure variability and trends Manure management Manure Land Application: Minim...